Pennsylvania Water Science Center
USGS Releases Products Documenting Effects of Hurricane Ida
Updating Pennsylvania Streamgage Datums
USGS is updating streamgage datums to reflect elevations in North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88).
USGS is updating streamgage datums to reflect elevations in North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88).
Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed - A Century of Change
Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed - A Century of Change
USGS Collects High-Quality Water-Resources Data for Pennsylvania
Streamflow, groundwater levels, water quality, precipitation, water use, and other related data, both real time and historic
Streamflow, groundwater levels, water quality, precipitation, water use, and other related data, both real time and historic
Hydrologic Studies, Research, and Tools for Pennsylvania
Water availability, groundwater contamination, nutrient loading in streams, effects of land use on water quality, and other water-resource topics
Water availability, groundwater contamination, nutrient loading in streams, effects of land use on water quality, and other water-resource topics
Pennsylvania Water Science Center
We work in cooperation with numerous federal, state, and local agencies to collect scientific data and conduct scientific studies of the source, quantity, quality, ecology, and use of Pennsylvania's water resources.
News
USGS article featured on the cover of the July/August issue of Journal of Environmental Quality
USGS article featured on the cover of the July/August issue of Journal of Environmental Quality
USGS Updates Philadelphia Water Resources Monitoring Web Tool
USGS Updates Philadelphia Water Resources Monitoring Web Tool
Publications
Environmental monitoring of groundwater, surface water, and soil at the Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction Facility at the Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 2021
Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, built an Ammonium Perchlorate Rocket Motor Destruction (ARMD) Facility in 2016 to centralize rocket motor destruction and contain all waste during the destruction process. The U.S. Geological Survey has collected environmental samples from groundwater, surface water, and soils at ARMD since 2016.During 2021, samples were collected from four gro
Complex hydrology and variability of nitrogen sources in a karst watershed
Streams draining karst areas with rapid groundwater transit times may respond relatively quickly to nitrogen reduction strategies, but the complex hydrologic network of interconnected sinkholes and springs is challenging for determining the placement and effectiveness of management practices. This study aims to inform nitrogen reduction strategies in a representative agricultural karst setting of
Estimation and comparison of 1-percent annual exceedance probability flood flows at Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance study flow locations across Pennsylvania
Flood-flow estimates were computed at over 5,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance study (FIS) flow locations across Pennsylvania for the 1-percent annual exceedance probability flood event (1-percent AEP). Depending on a point of interest’s proximity to a streamgage, weighting techniques may be applied to obtain flood-flow estimates for ungaged flow locations using observ
Science
Water Quality Monitoring to Inform Conservation Management, Fishing Creek, Clinton County, Pennsylvania
USGS conducted synoptic sampling of major-ion chemistry and the nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of nitrate in Fishing Creek during base flow to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of nutrients and to characterize biogeochemical processes.
Sediment and Stream Health - Pennsylvania
Sediment in streams, from land surface erosion in watersheds, is an important factor in determining the quality of Pennsylvania's surface waters and of downstream water bodies such as the Delaware Estuary and Chesapeake Bay. The USGS has a long-standing tradition of measuring suspended-sediment concentrations and estimating loads. Recent technological advances allow real-time estimates of...
Rapid Deployment Network for Flooding in Pennsylvania
USGS, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 3 and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), is developing a Rapid Deployment Network (RDN) for monitoring stream levels at currently unmonitored locations in Pennsylvania during flooding. RDN data helps emergency response agencies protect life and property during forecast floods and informs flood...